


Ari's First Date

by LinRow12



Category: Days of Our Lives
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-14
Updated: 2014-05-14
Packaged: 2018-01-24 17:34:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1613489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinRow12/pseuds/LinRow12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arianna's going on her first date. Her dads do not take it well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ari's First Date

**Author's Note:**

> For Jess. :)  
> Also, warning: There is not a lot of WilSon in this story. It mainly focuses on Ari.

Arianna Grace was grateful for her large family. Despite being an only child, she never felt lonely between her aunts and uncles and cousins who were always willing to make time for her. She knew she was spoiled too, birthdays and Christmases proved that but she liked to think she didn’t take advantage of it _too_ much. Her friends teased her for being connected to practically every one in town but Ari loved seeing a familiar face everywhere she went. She wouldn’t have changed it for anything…until she had her first date. Then she debated whether having a large family was actually a good thing all the time.

*******************************************************************************************

“Who is this boy again?” Will asked one night over dinner.

“His name is Leo Stevenson. His parents recently got divorced and his mother moved him and his brother to Salem. She grew up here.” Ari replied.

“And you have a date with him tomorrow night?” Sonny asked teasingly.

“It’s not a date! I just offered to show him around Salem.” Ari protested, blushing.

“Uh huh, because Salem is so big. Is that the line kids are using nowadays?” Will asked Sonny.

“Must be. Although, I was hoping our daughter would have come up with something better.” Sonny replied.

“Yeah, I’m kinda disappointed.” Will said.

“Me, too.” Sonny agreed.

“You guys suck.” Ari muttered.

Will laughed, “Ok, sorry honey. You can go out with this boy if you want to.”

“Really?” Ari’s face lit up. Sonny stared at Will in surprise.

“Yes, but only if Sonny says yes too. “

Ari turned to Sonny, “Please, Papa?”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, it’s ok with me.”

“Yay! Thank you guys!”

“One thing though, I want to meet him first.” Will said quickly.

“Aw, really, Dad?” Ari whined.

“Yes, really.” Will mimicked her tone.

“Fine.”

“I want to meet him too.” Sonny piped up.

“But you’re working tomorrow night.” Ari said, confused.

“And _you_ wanted to show him around Salem. So bring him around to the club.” Sonny suggested.

Ari sighed, “Alright, fine. Can I be excused? I have a lot of homework.”

“Go ahead, honey.” Will said

Ari picked up her plate and left the table. Once they heard her footsteps go up the stairs, Sonny leveled Will with a stare.

“What?” Will asked, finishing his dinner.

“You took that well. Too well.” Sonny noted.

“So? I knew this day would come, I’m just taking it in stride.” Will got up to wash his plate.

“Will, you don’t take things concerning Ari in stride. Like when she started kindergarten, you asked the teacher if you can sit in.” Sonny followed him into the kitchen.

“I think that’s a normal reaction for a father.”

“You asked to sit in for the first month! The teacher ended up asking me to drop off and pick up Ari because you kept bothering her about it and wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“Alright, I get your point.”

Sonny placed his plate under the running water. “So then, how are you so calm about Ari’s first date?”

“It’s not a date!” Will said quickly.

“There it is.” Sonny turned Will to face him. “What are you thinking?”

“Ok, I was freaking out before, but then I came up with a plan.” Will said, eagerly.

“What plan?” Sonny asked warily.

“If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell Ari.”

“I’m already scared to know.” At Will’s look, he sighed. “Fine, I won’t tell Ari.”

“Pinky swear.”

“Seriously? Will, we’re not in our twenties anymore.”

“Pinky. Swear.”

“Ugh, fine!” Sonny looped his pinky with Will’s. “ Now what’s this oh-so-secret plan?”

After checking to make Ari wasn’t going to come back downstairs, Will told Sonny.

Sonny blinked. “You have to be joking.”

“I’m not.”

“Will, you do realize if your parents did what you’re thinking of doing to Ari when you started dating—“

“Yes, I know, I would have thrown a huge fit, but I’m doing this to keep an eye on Ari.”

Sonny gave him a look, one that plainly said, ‘You’ve clearly lost your mind.’

“Ok fine then. You can let our little girl go out with some boy tomorrow night by herself.” Will shrugged and rinsed a soapy plate.

Sonny bit his lip, debating. On one hand, what Will was suggesting was insane. On the other, it was his daughter’s first date in question, so insanity should be allowed, right?

“Ok, ok! I’m in.” Sonny exclaimed finally.

Will turned back with a grin, “I knew I could get you on my side.” He gave Sonny a quick kiss.

“Yeah, whatever. Just know that when Ari catches on, you’re on your own.” Sonny smirked.

“Hey! That’s totally….fair actually.” Will shrugged. “I’ll just worry about that later.”

Sonny just shook his head and grabbed a dish towel to help Will with the remaining dishes.

 

*******************************************************************************************

 

“That’s for me!” Ari called, running down the stairs the next night to answer the door.

“Yes, I heard you the first three times.” Will joked from the couch.

“Just making sure.” Ari said, checking her hair quickly in the hallway mirror.

“Aw, look at my baby going on her first date. Wait, let me get my camera.” Will said jumping up.

“Daddy!” Ari looked horrified.

“Just kidding sweetie.” Will grinned.

“Better be. And I told you, it’s not a date.” Before opening the door Ari turned back to Will, “Be nice.” she whispered.

Will drew a halo over his head, “Always.”

Ari rolled her eyes and opened the door. “Hi Leo.” Ari said, suddenly breathless.

“Hey Ari. You look nice.” Leo said, smiling shyly.

“Oh thanks.” Ari blushed. “Oh, come in! Sorry!”

“Thanks.” Leo strolled into the living room where Will was waiting.

“Dad, this is Leo. Leo, my dad.” Ari said, coming up behind him.

Leo shook Will’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you. You’re Ari’s father right? You two look similar. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, I just-just wanted to be sure. God, now I’m rambling. I’m sorry, just forget it.” He laughed nervously.

Will smiled, “It’s all right. I can see why it would be confusing. Yes, I’m Will, Ari’s father. But you two will be meeting Ari’s other dad later tonight.“

Leo looked at Ari, “We are?”

“Yeah. Well, I promised to show you around Salem and my stepfather’s club is a popular spot.” Ari replied.

“Ok, cool.”

“So, Ari tells me you’re new in town, Leo?” Will said

“Yeah, my mom grew up in Salem so she moved us back here.”

“How are you liking Salem so far?”

“It’s alright. But I still don’t know the town very well so I asked Ari to show me around.”

“Well you picked the perfect person to ask, our family has a lot of roots here. She can tell you the whole history of the town.” Will said proudly.

Ari blushed, “Dadddd.”

“Sorry honey. Well, I’ll let you go—“ Will was interrupted by the doorbell ringing. “Oh, just wait one second, I better get that.” He hurried to the door.

Before Ari could wonder who was at the door, Sami walked in with Will trailing behind her, a sheepish smile on his face.

Ari’s heart dropped. “ _Oh, please no._ ” she thought.

“Hi honey!” Sami chirped. She wrapped Ari in a hug.

“Grandma…hi. I didn’t know you were coming over. Right now.” Ari said; shooting Will a look. Will, on his part, doesn’t meet her gaze.

“I came over to talk wedding details with your dad. Your Aunt Allie is getting married in a few weeks and there’s still a ton to do. I figured tonight was a good night as any.” Sami said breezily.

“How convenient.” Ari muttered. No way was this last minute plan.

“Anyway, aren’t you going to introduce to your friend, honey?” Sami said, looking over at Leo.

“Uh, ok. Grandma, this is Leo. Leo, this is my Grandma Sami. Leo’s new in town and I’m going to be showing him around tonight and we need to get going, so yeah, bye!” Ari said in a rush. She grabbed Leo’s arm and started to pull him to the front door.

“Woah, wait a minute! I’d like to get to know Leo better.” Sami said. She walked over to the two of them and grabbed Leo’s other arm, pulling him from Ari’s grasp. As Ari stood there, gaping, Sami steered Leo to the couch and sat him down.

“So tell me about your life before Salem.” Sami said to a taken aback Leo.

Will came over to stand next to Ari. He kept his hand over his mouth but Ari could tell from the shaking in his shoulders that he was laughing.

Ari shook her head; “I know you planned this.” She whispered to her father.

Will’s shoulders only shook harder.

Ten minutes later, after Leo told his life story and Sami told her life story, Ari was finally able to pry Leo from Sami’s clutches and they headed out for the night.

“God, I am so sorry about that. My grandmother is…well, let’s just say they haven’t invented a word to fully describe her yet.” Ari groaned.

“It was fine. Really.” Leo said in response to the look on Ari’s face. “She is definitely a talker though. I just can’t believe she’s your grandmother. She does not look like a typical grandma.”

“Yeah she does yoga or something.” Ari said, pulling her jacket around her.

“So where do we start on our Salem Tour?” Leo joked.

Ari smiled, “Want to hit the club first?”

“Sure.” The two teenagers headed on their way.

*******************************************************************************************

When they entered the club, Ari spotted Sonny right away, conversing with a man whose back was towards them.

“This place is neat.” Leo said, looking around.

“Yeah, and they have really great coffee. Like I said before, it’s a common place to hang out. And there’s my dad.” Ari nodded towards the bar. She led Leo over.

“Hi Papa.”

“Hey, sweetpea.” Sonny said, greeting her with his special smile for her. He looked towards Leo “Is this your friend?”

“Friend?” The man Sonny was talking to turned towards Ari.

“Grandpa Justin!” Ari said, surprised. “I didn’t know you were going to be here tonight.”

“Yes, well, I got out of court early so I decided to stop by.”

Ari narrowed her eyes, “Just like that?”

“Yes. Just like that. Don’t tell me you’re not happy to see me.” Justin jested.

“Of course I am Grandpa.” Ari gave him a hug. Behind his back though, she shot a glance at Sonny. He smiled back innocently at her.

“So, who’s your friend Ari?” Justin asked, letting her go.

“Papa, Grandpa, this is Leo. Leo, this is my stepdad Sonny, and his dad, Justin.”

Leo shook Sonny’s hand first, then Justin’s. “Nice to meet you both.”

“Nice to meet you.” Sonny replied as Justin nodded. “Can I get you anything?”

“Actually Papa, we were going to eat at the Brady Pub.” Ari said. She needed to get Leo out of there. Fast.

Sonny put a hand to his heart, pretending to be wounded, “Eating at the competition? Ari, you break my heart.”

“Sorry Papa, but I feel like Leo should taste the famous Brady clam chowder.” Ari said, thinking quickly.

Sonny nodded thoughtfully, “I can’t argue with you there.”

“This is a really nice place you have here, sir.” Leo supplied.

“Thank you. And call me Sonny please. Sir is my dad.”

“Hey!”

“Sorry Dad.”

Justin chuckled. “So Leo, what are you thinking of doing after high school?”

Ari’s mouth dropped open. “ _Not Grandpa Justin too_! _Why is everyone hounding Leo?”_ She glared at Sonny; she was so going to have a word with her dads when she got home.

“Well I’m hoping to get into Northwestern in Chicago and then hopefully get into their law school.” Leo replied.

“Ambitious, I like that.” Justin said.

“My dad’s lawyer too. One of the town’s best.” Sonny said proudly.

 “Well, I don’t know about that.” Justin said with a laugh.

“You’re a lawyer? That’s so cool. Do you mind if I get your e-mail down so that when I’m applying to college and internships, I can come to you for advice?” Leo asked eagerly.

“I’ll do you one better.” Justin reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a business card. “Here’s my card. If you have any questions for me, just call me.”

“Wow, thanks a lot.” Leo took the card and smiled gratefully.

“Well we’d better go, I’ll see you at home, Papa. Bye Grandpa.” Ari gave Justin one last hug.

“Bye Ari. Bye Leo.” Sonny and Justin both called out.

“Bye, it was nice meeting you both.” Leo followed Ari out.

“So, one question.” Leo asked as he and Ari began walking to the pub.

“What?”

 “Is your Grandma Sami married to your Grandpa Justin?”

Ari nearly choked, “Oh no! Never in a million years. Sami is my father’s mom and like I said before, Justin is my stepfather’s dad.”

“Ok. Just wanted to be sure.”

“My family’s a bit complicated.” Ari admitted as they neared the pub. “But we shouldn’t be running into any more members tonight.”

Ari should have known she would end up eating her words. This was Salem after all.

 

*******************************************************************************************

 

 “So, did I hear you correctly back at the club? We’re eating at a pub?” Leo asked.

Ari laughed, “Don’t knock it before you try it. I’m taking you to an iconic staple in Salem. Just wait until you try the chowder. Half the town goes crazy for it.”

Leo chucked, “Alright, I’ll take your word for it.”

“You won’t have to once you had it.”

As the two teenagers neared the pub, two men exited it, pulling their jackets on.

“Uncle Rafe? Uncle Johnny? What are you guys doing here?” Ari stopped.

“Ari, hi!” Rafe pulled Ari into a hug and kissed her hair. “This is a nice surprise!”

“Uh huh.” Ari said, not fooled at all.

“Hey Ari. If we had known you were going to eat at the pub tonight, we would have waited for you.” Johnny said, pushing his dark curly hair out of his eyes. Tall and lean, at twenty-two, he was a carbon copy of his father.

“I’m with a friend tonight so I actually couldn’t have.” Ari said, trying to mask her annoyance.

“Really.” Rafe looked at Leo with interest. “How are you, man? Sergeant Rafe Hernandez, I’m Ari’s uncle.” He held out his hand.

Ari resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the Rafe’s obvious trick of intimidation. Leo, for his part, looked calm. He shook Rafe while looking at him straight in the eye.

“Leo Stevenson, sir. Nice to meet you, my dad’s a cop too.”

“Really? Detective?”

“No sir, he’s a captain.”

“Oh, I see.” Rafe nodded, trying to shrug off his failed trick.

“Nice try, Rafe.” Johnny laughed, “I’m Ari’s uncle Johnny.” He shook Leo’s hand, “Don’t mind him. He likes to pretend he’s intimidating, but really he’s a big teddy bear.”

“Johnny!”

“It’s true and you know it.” Even Ari cracked a smile then.

“It’s fine, I’ve seen my dad use that scare tactic all the time. Mainly on me.” The four of them laughed.

“If you don’t mind me saying, you two do not look like brothers.” Leo added.

“Oh we are definitely not brothers.” Johnny laughed again.

“But, you both said you were Ari’s uncles.” Leo asked confused.

“Um, yeah. Rafe is my mom’s brother and Johnny is my dad’s brother. Remember: complicated family.” Ari smiled.

“I beginning to think complicated was an understatement.” Leo chuckled.

“You want complicated? Rafe was once my step-dad.” Johnny supplied.

Leo rubbed his forehead dramatically, “No, please! No more!” he joked.

“Hey, you survived Sami. You can survive anything now.” Rafe said.

“She wasn’t that bad—wait, how did you know I already met Sami?” Leo asked surprised.

Ari stared at her uncles suspiciously, “That’s something I want to know too.”

“Uh, you said you did.”

“No. He didn’t.” Ari’s voice went cold.

“Idiot!” Johnny hissed. He grabbed Rafe’s shoulders and started pulling him away. ‘We’ll talk to you later Ari! Bye Leo!” The two men hurried away into the night.

“Ok, so before I just had a bad feeling, but now I’m dead sure.” Ari folded her arms.

“About what?”

“That my dads sent out spies to keep a watch on me all night. Ugh, they are so dead when I get done with them. And I bet you… ” Ari peered into the pub window. “Yeah I can see my Uncle Eric and Aunt Nicole. Dammit.”

“Wait, are you telling me there’s more family waiting in the pub?”

“Actually I should have expected that; my family owns the pub.”

“Of course they do.” Leo ran a hand through his hair, laughing helplessly.

Ari turned to Leo, “Do you like sub sandwiches?”

“Um yeah, why?”

“Because there’s a sandwich shop in the square and we’re eating there instead. Best of all, my family has no connections to it. Come on!” She grabbed Leo’s arm and they headed to the square.

 

*******************************************************************************************

 

A short time later, Ari and Leo were relaxing at an outdoor café, the remains of their meal in front of them.

“I think we’ve reached a record.” Leo said casually, taking a sip of his soda.

“What do you mean?” Ari asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

“It’s been twenty minutes and we haven’t ran into any more of your family members.”

Ari threw a napkin at him. “Hey!”

Leo took the napkin and pretended to wipe his lips. “Oh thanks, I needed that.”

Ari shook her head and laughed. “Well, if you wanted to get technical, we are sitting in a square named after my great-great-grandparents.”

“Since you had to go there.” Leo chuckled, “You know what I think?”

“What?”

“That you secretly like to be so connected in this town even though you pretend to be annoyed.”

“First off, I don’t secretly love it, I openly do. Secondly, I’m only annoyed because my dads have sent my family members to spy on me. And they weren’t subtle in the least.”

“Would you prefer if they were? Got little microphone pieces and given you a code name? ‘The dove is in flight. Repeat, the dove is in flight.’ Leo used his hand as a walkie-talkie.

“I am seriously debating punching you out right now. Just a heads up.”

“You have to admit, it would be pretty cool. Just need a high end family to help your dads orchestrate it. They should talk to the DiMeras.”

“You know about the DiMeras?”

“Of course I do. You don’t need to be staying in Salem all your life to know about the DiMeras. Or the Kiriakises. My mom’s told me stories about them.”

“Do me a favor, don’t bring this up to my dad. If he actually goes to my Uncle Johnny with this idea, I’ll never go out with a guy again in my teenage life.”

Leo laughed, “Fine, my lips are sealed.” Then he frowned. “Wait, why would he talk to your Uncle Johnny?”

“Probably because he is a DiMera.”

“But you said he was your father’s brother?”

“Half brother. Different dads.”

“So you’re related to the DiMeras too? Damn woman, is there anyone you aren’t related to in this town?”

“ _Yes._ Don’t make fun of me.”

“I’m not, it’s just getting kinda crazy now.”

“Welcome to my life.”

“Damn, the DiMeras.” Leo whistled. “Talk about knowing people in high places. Next thing you’re telling me is you’re related to the Kiriakises too.”

Ari smirked and twirled her straw.

“No way. No way!”

“It’s my step-dad’s surname. Legally mine too, but it gets too long when it’s hyphened so I usually just go by Horton.”

“I can’t even anymore. Can’t even.”

“Changing the subject on my connections to former mob families.” Ari teased. “How do you like the square?”

“It’s neat.” Leo said. He glanced up at the sky. “I can’t get over this outdoor roof thing though.”

“Yeah, I suppose it is a bit weird at first. But you get used to it and it does help when it cold out.”

“That’s true. It just sucks that you can’t see the stars because of the lights in the square.”

Ari glanced over, “If you want to see stars, I know this place in the park that has the best view. It’s away from the lights and everything. I could show you if you like.”

“Sounds good to me, let’s go.” The two of them got up, grabbing their stuff and throwing their trash away. They set off towards the park.

Unbeknownst to the both of them, two people got up from the table behind them and followed them out of the square.

*******************************************************************************************

 

“This is probably my favorite spot in the park. It’s pretty secluded and the flowers bloom really nicely in the spring.” Ari said, leading Leo to a bench.

Leo looked around, “Secluded being the operative word here. I think this is the time where I should be worried about your connections to the DiMera and Kiriakis family.”

“Oh shut up and sit down.” Ari laughed and pulled Leo beside her.

“You’ve been pulling my arm a lot tonight. I’m getting worried you’ve stretched it.” Leo held out both his arms in front of them “Does one look longer to you?”

“You’ll live. Check it out.” Ari gestured up to the sky.

Leo tilted his head up to see thousands of stars blinking down on him.

“Wow, this is seriously cool. You can see the stars so clearly.” ‘

“Isn’t it? Look, I think I can see Orion’s belt.”

“You know about constellations?” Leo asked.

“Only a few. My dads used to take me star gazing.”

“That’s really cool.” Leo smiled at her in a way that made Ari’s breath hitch. She suddenly became aware of how close they were to each other. She could see a small scar he had on his nose. Leo moved closer to her, his eyes never leaving hers. Their heads bent closer. Ari closed her eyes, leaned forward and----

“Hey Ari!”

Leo and Ari sprang apart so fast that Leo slipped off the bench and fell to the ground.  Ari whipped her head towards the voice, pushing her hair out of the way.

“Abigail? JJ?” Ari’s face turned a deep red.

Abigail and JJ Deveraux  strolled over to them. Abi smiled at Ari while JJ looked down at Leo with an amused expression.

“You ok, man?” He asked.

Leo grunted, getting up and dusting himself off. “Yeah, I, uh, lost my balance.”

JJ gave him a look, “Right.”

Abi hugged Ari, “I’m so glad we ran into you! I was just telling JJ we hadn’t seen you in forever!”

“You have impeccable timing.” Ari muttered.

Abi pretended not to hear her. She turned towards Leo, “Hi, I’m Abigail.”

JJ was still staring down Leo, “I’m JJ. We’re Ari’s cousins. And who exactly are you?”

“Ok JJ, no need for the laser eyes.” Ari stepped forward, “Leo’s a friend, we were just hanging out.”

“In a conveniently secluded spot.”

“It was my idea, lay off.” Ari said forcefully.

“Hey wait a minute, do I know you?” Leo asked suddenly.

“Don’t think so man. We’ve never met.”

“But you look really familiar.” Leo snapped his fingers. “At the square tonight! I ran into you when I went back in the sandwich shop to get napkins for Ari and me.”

Ari glared at her cousins. “What?”

“Uh, we were just-just getting a bite to eat.” Abi said, fiddling with her hair.

“Oh, and then you just decided to come to the park too?”

“We wanted to stargaze.” JJ said stubbornly, not backing down.

“Oh please.” Ari folded her arms. “My grandparents and uncles were one thing but I never thought the two of you would do this to me.”

“Yeah, well, call it being overprotected.” JJ folded his arms too.

“I call it being annoying.” Ari looked at each cousin in turn. “Was it Dad or Papa?”

“Ari—“

“Dad or Papa?” Ari demanded.

“It was Sonny.” Abi sighed, pushing a strand of hair out of her face.

“Thank you.” Ari said coldly. She turned to Leo, “I need to talk to my dads. Can you take me home?”

Leo nodded and they started to leave the park.

“Ari, just wait a second.” JJ walked up to her.

“What is it?” she asked annoyed.

“Don’t be so hard on your dads. They’re just looking out for their little girl.” JJ spoke softly.

“I’m not little and I don’t need to be looked out for.” Ari snapped. “And you can tell them that when you text them in five seconds.” She left the park in a huff with Leo following closely behind.

*******************************************************************************************

 

Ari and Leo had been walking in silence since they left the park but once they turned onto Ari’s street, she spoke up.

“I’m really sorry about tonight.”

“Why? I had a good time.” Leo said surprised.

“Yeah right. I’m sure you meet the extended family members of all the girls you date.” As soon as the words came out, Ari flinched.

“Was this a date?” Leo smiled slightly.

“I didn’t mean—I just..—“

“Ari.” Leo stopped walking. “Ari, look at me.”

Ari reluctantly turned to face him.

“I had an amazing time with you tonight. I mean it.” He said firmly. “Honestly, when my mom said we had to move to Salem, I hated it. I hated the idea of moving to a small town. But you’ve shown me that’s it’s not a bad thing. It looks like Salem has a lot going on.“

_‘Wait until May comes around.‘_ Ari thought.

“I think I’m starting to really like it here.” Leo continued. He paused and then added quietly, “And you.”

Ari looked at him in surprise. Before she could say something, Leo bent down and brushed his lips lightly with hers. Ari wrapped her arms around his neck, and pressed her lips against his.

After a minute they broke apart. Ari pushed her hair back, smiling slightly.

Leo cleared her throat, “I’ll, uh, walk you to your door.”

Ari nodded, not trusting her voice yet.

“Wait, can you do me one favor though?” Leo asked, stopping again.

Ari nodded again.

“I know your cousin already asked you this, but I’m going to say it too. Give your dads a break.”

Ari found her voice, “Are. You. Serious.”

“Ari, they care about you a lot. Honestly, I wished my dad cared about me that much. He had no problem giving sole custody to my mom. And I wish I had an extended family that looks after me the way yours does. You’re really lucky.”

“I know I am. I really do.” Ari admitted. “Ok, fine. I’ll go easy on them.”

“Good.” Leo smiled. “Come on, let’s take you home.”

Once they reach the doorstep, Ari turned to Leo, “Thanks for tonight.”

“I should be thanking you. It was definitely an…interesting experience.”

“Yeah, I bet.” Ari laughed.

“One last question.”

“Shoot.”

“Your cousins, JJ and Abigail. Are they related to your dad or your step-dad?”

“Um, both?”

Leo shook his head as Ari laughed again. “Ok, next time, you can just draw me a family tree. It’ll make things easier.”

“Yeah, alright.” Ari suddenly caught what he said. “Next time?”

Leo leaned in and kissed Ari on the cheek. “Yeah, next time. Good night Ari.”

“Night, Leo.”

Ari let herself into her house and shut the door behind her. She leaned back against it and sighed, the biggest smile on her face. She literally felt like she was floating.

“Ari?” Will’s voice came from the dining room.

_Crash_. Back to Earth.

“Yeah, it’s me.” Ari began removing her jacket and boots.

“Will you come in here, please?”

“Okay.” Ari walked into the dining room to see both her dads, sitting across from each other, waiting for her. She took a seat at the head of the table and waited.

“I got a text from Abigail.” Sonny began, “So we know you’re upset with us.”

Ari nodded but didn’t say anything.

“Ok sweetpea, I know your father went a little overboard but—“

“Excuse me? I went overboard?”

“It was your idea Will! I told you I wouldn’t take the fall!”

“It doesn’t matter if it was my idea anymore, you went along with it too!”

“Only because you insisted!”

“You were the one who called your father to come to the club. And the one to make sure JJ and Abigail tailed Ari. That wasn’t my idea.”

“Who made sure Rafe and Johnny would run into Ari at the pub? Who had Eric and Nicole on standby? Let’s not forget that you were the one who let Sami loose on the boy right out of the gate! I’m surprise he didn’t run away then!”

Ari pinched her lips together to keep from smiling.

Will took a breath, “Ok fine. I know I’m at fault here.” He turned towards Ari, “I am sorry for ruining your night, sweetie.”

“I am too.” Sonny added.

“We went a bit crazy when we heard you were going out with a boy. Neither of us couldn’t help it, we get overprotected of our little girl.”

“I guess we aren’t ready for you to grow up. But we know that’s already happening. You’re growing up into a beautiful mature woman.” Sonny said.

“One that can make her own decisions and that’s why, starting right now, we are going to accept those decisions and support them.”

“Because we love you and we want the best for you.”

“And we will always be here if you need us.”

“Is that ok for you?”

Ari looked at her dads in turn. Finally she asked, “Was that rehearsed? That felt rehearsed.”

“No!” Will said at the same time that Sonny said, “A little.”

The three of them laughed.

“Ok, yes it was. But we meant every word.” Will said.

“I know. I believe it.” Ari replied, “And I know you guys only do crazy---stupid---stuff like this because you love me so much.”

 “We do.” Will said softly.

“So I forgive you both.” Ari said.

Will and Sonny exchanged surprised looks. Clearly, they weren’t expecting such a tame reaction.

“You what?” Sonny asked.

“My night wasn’t totally ruined so I forgive you both. Just as long as you promise to never, _never,_ do something like this again.”

“Done. Never ever ever again.” Will said firmly.

“Yes. Never again.” Sonny agreed empathically.

“Good, thank you.” Ari said, “Well, I’m going to go to bed, I’m pretty wiped.” She got up and kissed both her dads in turn. “Goodnight.”

“Just one sec, Ari.” Sonny said before Ari could leave the room. “How did it go tonight? I mean, besides all the interruptions.”

“It went really well.” Ari said, smiling softly.

“Leo wasn’t annoyed with everyone running into you two?” Sonny asked surprised.

“No, he was totally cool with it. All of it. I think we might go out again.”

“After everything that happened tonight? Arianna, you better hang on to this one.” Will commanded jokingly.

“Yeah I think I will. He’s like the single most incredible person on this planet.” Ari said, a far off look in her eyes.

“I know that feeling.” Will chuckled, his eyes on Sonny. Sonny smiled and took Will’s hand.

“Uh huh. Goodnight.” Ari went upstairs with a dreamy look on her face.

“Wow, she is hooked.” Will said.

“Yep. Looks like we’ll have to get used to seeing Leo around.”

“I don’t mind. I liked him.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Although, if he does cause problems, I do have another plan for---“

“No! No more of your ideas William Horton! I’m out.” Sonny jumped up and ran out of the room.

“Sonny? Sonny! Just hear me out! This one’s really good! It involves hidden microphones!”

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
